The Spillover Effects of the Spouse's Retirement on Depression: Evidence From Chinese Middle-Aged and Older Adult Couples

OBJECTIVES

The present study expands on previous research by examining whether the spouse's retirement affects individual depression both directly, by the changes in individual health investment, and indirectly, through the social interaction effect of the couples' depression.

METHODS

Using the panel data from the 2010-2018 China Family Panel Studies, we investigate the direct and indirect spillover effects of the spouse's retirement on depression among Chinese urban-worker couples (men aged 50-70, women aged 40-60; n = 10,466). To address the potential endogeneity and reflect the social interaction effect of the couples' depression, we combine the Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity method with simultaneous equations.

RESULTS

Overall, a spouse's retirement would improve an individual's depression, with the direct spillover dominating compared to the indirect spillover. Gender heterogeneity indicates that husbands' depression is improved by wives' retirement mainly because husbands might receive more healthcare and companionship provided by their retired wives, while wives' depression is aggravated by husbands' retirement because of the decline in household income and the lesser health investment. This difference is more evident when wives retire earlier and both spouses retire in the same year. With the spouse's retirement years increasing, husbands' depression improves and wives' depression declines each year. Moreover, spouses' depression is significantly interactive, and wives' depression is more vulnerable to husbands' depression.

DISCUSSION

The results highlight that the health spillover effects of the spouse's retirement need greater attention in future research and retirement reform.

Are changes in sleep problems associated with changes in life satisfaction during the retirement transition?

Retirement reduces sleep problems, but changes in life satisfaction during the retirement transition are multifactorial and partly unknown. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to examine whether changes in sleep problems are associated with changes in total and domain-specific life satisfaction during the retirement transition (on average 0.5 years before and 0.5 years after retirement). The study population consisted of Finnish public sector employees (n = 3518) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging (FIREA) study who responded to annual surveys before and after transition to statutory retirement. Sleep problems were measured with Jenkins Sleep Problem Scale questionnaire and participants were grouped into four sleep problem groups depending on the state of their sleep problems during the retirement transition: 'Never,' 'Decreasing,' 'Increasing,' and 'Constant' sleep problems. Life satisfaction was measured with the Life Satisfaction Scale questionnaire including four domains (interestingness, happiness, easiness, togetherness). We found that the improvement in total life satisfaction was greatest for participants in the 'Decreasing' (0.17, 95% CI 0.11-0.23, SMD 0.27) and 'Constant' (0.12, 95% CI 0.07-0.18, SMD 0.19) sleep problem groups. Of the specific life satisfaction domains, similar findings were observed only for the easiness domain. It seems that decreasing or constant sleep problems are associated with improved life satisfaction during the retirement transition, especially in the feeling of easiness of life. This may be due to the fact that as the demands of working life are removed, sleep problems are alleviated or it becomes easier to live with them, which improves life satisfaction.

A contemporary review of employee retirement

As societies in many developed countries grapple with the rapid aging trend of the population, the research field of retirement has gained increasing attention. Considering the extensive scope of psychological research on retirement, in this article we focus on providing a review of recent advancements, especially those that have not been covered in existing reviews. We structure our review around four primary empirical themes in alignment with the temporal process model of retirement: retirement planning, retirement decision-making, bridge employment, as well as retirement transition and adjustment. We conclude this review with a discussion on potential future research directions.

Retirement transition and smoking and drinking behaviors in older Chinese adults: Analysis from the CHARLS study

Introduction

Smoking and drinking are important public problems and a substantial part of work culture in mainland China. However, little is known about the effect of retirement on these behaviors. Thus, this study examined the relationships between retirement transition, smoking and excessive drinking among older Chinese adults.

Methods

Repeated longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of Chinese adults were collected in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2018. Respondents completed a structured questionnaire regarding work status and health behaviors. Modified mixed-effects Poisson regression models were used to explore the associations, with additional analyses stratified by gender.

Results

Of the 10,378 participants included, 62.6% and 20.1% of men reported current smoking and excessive drinking at study entry; compared to 4.4% and 1.5% of women, respectively. There was no significant association between retirement and smoking. We found a dose-response relationship between time in retirement and excessive drinking in the adjusted model where those who retired >= 2 years ago had a 30% lower risk of excessive drinking (risk ratio (RR) = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.56-0.86), and those who retired < 2 years ago had a 16% lower risk of excessive drinking (RR = 0.84, 95%CI = 0.73-0.97), compared with those who remained working. This pattern remained when analyzed separately for men and women, although not all results reached statistical significance.

Discussion

Chinese older adults are more likely to reduce drinking following retirement. Such evidence supports the positive framing of retirement in public discourse and the need for workplace interventions to address excessive drinking in China.

Irrational beliefs indirectly predict retirement satisfaction through the conceptualization of retirement: a cross-sectional study in a sample of recent retirees

BACKGROUND

Although most retirees are satisfied, some do not feel well in retirement. The resource-based dynamic perspective explains retirement dissatisfaction as the lack of resources. This study focused on psychological resources, specifically on the role of rational/irrational beliefs and retirement concepts in retirement satisfaction. While irrational beliefs have many consequences, we know little about their role in retirement experiences, nor do we know about the benefits/harm of retirement concepts for retirement satisfaction. We assumed that not succumbing to irrational beliefs and conceptualizing retirement actively and positively add to psychological resources helping to adjust to retirement and retirement satisfaction. Our objective was to examine whether irrational beliefs and retirement concepts contributed to satisfaction or dissatisfaction in recent retirees.

METHODS

200 recent retirees (average retirement time 2.8 years) completed questionnaires containing the Irrational Belief Scale, the Satisfaction with Retirement Scale, and the Retirement Lifestyles Questionnaire, which determines the inclination toward four retirement concepts: Transition to Old Age, New Start, Continuation, and Imposed Disruption. The Pearson correlation coefficients were used to estimate the relationship between irrational beliefs, retirement concepts, and retirement satisfaction. We used a parallel mediation model with multiple mediators in the mediation analysis where irrational beliefs were the independent variable, retirement satisfaction was the dependent variable, and the four retirement concepts were mediators.

RESULTS

We confirmed higher retirement satisfaction in recent retirees who conceptualize retirement as a New Start and Continuation and higher retirement dissatisfaction in those who see retirement as an Imposed Disruption or Transition to Old Age. The general irrational beliefs had a weaker direct impact on retirement satisfaction than the more specific retirement concepts. Inclination to general irrational beliefs appeared only weakly reflected in retirement dissatisfaction. However, a negative view of retirement as an imposed disruption might increase this inclination by intensifying retirement dissatisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show a negative retirement concept as an imposed disruptive event that amplifies the impact of general irrational beliefs and leads to retirement dissatisfaction in recent retirees. It suggests that using rational-emotive behavior therapy and interventions to change the negative perception of retirement could be effective in increasing retirement satisfaction.

How to Measure Retirement Age? A Comparison of Survey and Register Data

Due to an increasing heterogeneity in retirement transitions, the measurement of retirement age constitutes a major challenge for researchers and policymakers. In order to better understand the concept of retirement age, we compare a series of measures for retirement age assessed on the basis of survey and register data. We use data from Sweden, where flexible retirement schemes are implemented and register data are available. We link survey data from the Swedish Level of Living Survey with register data from the Swedish Longitudinal Integration Database for Health Insurance and Labour Market Studies. We create four measures of retirement age based on these datasets, applying approaches that have been used in previous literature. We analyse the means and distributions of these measures and evaluate the correlations between them. Finally, we regress common predictors of retirement age such as gender or education on the four measures of retirement age to examine potential differences in size, direction and statistical significance of the associations. We find that the survey measure of retirement age resembles the following two ways of defining retirement age in the register data: first, the age at which people receive more than half their income from old-age or disability pension and, second, the age at which they were not gainfully employed for at least 2 years. This insight gives us a better understanding of when in the retirement transition process, individuals identify with retirement. Moreover, it provides decision support for researchers working with register data to determine which measure to use.

The Differential Impact of Retirement on Informal Caregiving, Volunteering, and Grandparenting: Results of a 3-Year Panel Study

Objectives

Research on retirees’ engagement in informal caregiving, formal volunteering, and grandparenting often views retirement as a permanent exit from the workforce. Retirement processes are, however, increasingly diverse: some retire fully while others remain in paid work after retirement from a career job. A relevant but understudied question is how these different retirement processes relate to changes in engagement in unpaid productive activities. Building on role theory, we hypothesize that full and working retirees face different consequences of retirement and, therefore, differ in engagement in unpaid productive activities.

Method

We analyze data that were collected in 2015 and 2018 among 4,882 Dutch individuals aged 60–65 and employed at baseline. Around half had fully retired at follow-up and 10% worked after their retirement. At follow-up, more respondents are regularly volunteering (from 17% to 27%) and grandparenting (from 39% to 53%) than at baseline, while caregiving remains rather stable (from 33% to 30%).

Results

Conditional change models show that full retirement is associated with an increased likelihood of volunteering and grandparenting, but not caregiving. Engagement in postretirement work is related to an increased likelihood of looking after the grandchildren, but not to volunteering or providing informal care.

Discussion

Our findings suggest that volunteering is important for replacing weak ties after full retirement, while grandparenting might be a new, central role in retirement—irrespective of work engagement. Retirees seem to engage in unpaid productive activities for different reasons.

Continuity and change in the transition to retirement: how time allocation, leisure practices and lifestyles evolve when work vanishes in later life

With increased longevity and socio-structural as well as socio-cultural changes, ageing research has shown a growing diversity of patterns in retirement lifestyles (Scherger et al. in Ageing Soc 31:146-172, 2011. 10.1017/s0144686x10000577). The transition from work to retirement is of particular interest to the study of the everyday lives, leisure activities and lifestyles of older adults, as questions on the meaning of work and leisure, activity and productivity are re-negotiated. This paper addresses the questions: how are the everyday lives of older adults re-organised when work vanishes? Are there lifestyles that are more easily maintained through retirement, whereas others are more prone to change? And which patterns of social inequalities underlie these processes? Drawing on data from the GTUS, this paper discusses similarities and differences in the time allocation of older working and non-working adults aged 55+ years (matched sample). Results show that the time spent on work is primarily taken up by household chores, media use and personal activities. Hierarchical cluster analysis identifies four activity clusters resp. lifestyles among the 55+: (1) a passive leisure lifestyle, (2) an active leisure lifestyle, (3) a paid work-centred lifestyle and (4) a housework-centred lifestyle. None of the clusters, however, comprised exclusively working or non-working older adults. The active leisure cluster comprised an equal share of working and non-working persons, suggesting that this kind of lifestyle allows for stronger continuity across work and retirement. It was more easily obtained by higher educated women who live separated from their partners.